Children’s Mental Health Week (5 – 11 February), now in its 10th year was set up by children’s mental health charity, Place2Be. Its aim is to shine a spotlight on the importance of children and young people’s mental health.
‘My Voice Matters’ is this year’s theme, in the hope that awareness will be raised to encourage children to speak up and be open about their mental health.
Today’s feature focuses on tips to cut down on screentime coinciding with Safer Internet Day (6 February). Excessive screen usage in young people can lead to problems in social-emotional development including obesity, sleep disturbances, depression and anxiety. Furthermore, it can promote aggression and hinder emotional and social competence.
Technology is very much a part of our children’s lives; they use it at school and at home for educational purposes as well as entertainment. It’s therefore important as parents, carers and educators that we teach children and young people how to have a healthy relationship with devices and teach them about the damaging effects too much screentime can have.
Evidence shows that raising awareness with our kids can significantly lower children’s screen time. You could have screen-free zones at home. For example, no devices at the dinner table, no screentime two hours before going to sleep, no screentime on a Sunday. Implement rules in your home to cut down on screentime and make sure everyone (including yourself) sticks to these.
There are plenty of activities to cut down on your child’s screen usage. Set some time aside each week for simple fun such as baking together, washing the car, building a den, reading together and getting out into nature. Your child will love connecting with you rather than their device!
There are lots of tips on our Safer Internet Day article (https://ni4kids.com/inspire-change-this-safer-internet-day/) to keep your children safe when online, how to set up parental controls, scam awareness and the importance of not oversharing personal information on social media accounts.
